Mission San Jose

We ran out of time to see all the Missions in the San Antonio area, but we did get to the San Jose Mission. Katie highly recommended the movie at the visitor 's center here, and we wer not disappointed. The movie told the history of South Texas, and carefully explained the native people who lived here, and why they build this. Considering the age of these missions, it is really amazing architecture.

After the movie we wandered the grounds. The sun was low in the sky and we had amazing light and shadow effects on everything. I thought it gave a real eerie effect to the place.

I assume these are fireplace/ovens. I want one of these in my backyard. Also on this site is the oldest operating mill in Texas. The mill is water driven and we watched as it ground wheat. It was impressive that they continue to keep this working. The Mission still has an active congregation and we saw the end of a wedding party as they were leaving the chapel area.

Katie wanted our picture here outside the chapel. The artwork on this window is pretty stunning. The funny part is that in downtown San Antonio there is a storye that made many of its display windows look just like this one. Katie wanted our picture there also, but I kept walking.